Definition: The Lesbia of Catullus' love poems, Clodia was an infamous and promiscuous woman, the sister of an equally scandalous brother, the patrician who had himself adopted into a plebeian family and changed his name from Claudius to Clodius Pulcher. When Clodius changed his name, so did his sister Clodia.
Clodia married Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer, but had affairs with Marcus Caelius Rufus -- and presumably Catullus, since he wrote about someone who fits her description with a name metrically similar. In addition to these affairs, Clodia was said to have been intimate with her brother Clodius, as well.
When Caelius broke off the relationship with Clodia, she responded by making accusations against him. Caelius chose Cicero to defend him. In the Pro Caelio, Cicero's literary account of what he said in defense of Caelio, Cicero accuses Clodia of various indecencies.
Also Known As: Lesbia, Claudia
